Kingdom Hearts: Shadows of the Past
by Theodore Hawkwood
Summary: One year after the end of the film Agatha Trunchbull returns with allies of dark origins seeking revenge. Can a mysterious stranger help Ms. Honey and Matilda survive Agatha's vengeance?
1. Prologue: Seeking Peace

Prologue: Seeking Peace

Disclaimer: I own neither the _Incredibles, Kingdom Hearts, Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego_ or_ Matilda_. The character of Nikolai Varshavsky is my own creation.

Author's note: The Metroville-Soviet War is covered in my fanfics _Relocated, Meet the Incredibles, Facility Kronos, _and _Dogs of War_.

Summary: One year after the end of the film Agatha Trunchbull returns with allies of dark origins seeking revenge.

* * *

"_In the middle of the journey of our life I found myself within a dark woods where the straight way was lost" _**- Dante Alighieri, **_**The Divine Comedy**_**, **_**Canto I, 1-60.**_

* * *

The sky was clear and blue that day. The day he had moved into the small cottage on the grounds of Crunchem Hall Elementary School grounds. The cottage was small but had a cozy air to it.

"I do appreciate allowing me a place to stay." Nikolai Varshavsky said to Miss Jennifer Honey, the new principal of Crunchem Hall.

"Well Mr. Boothby told me he had recently hired a new assistant to help tend the grounds and said you were looking for a place to stay." Ms. Honey replied, looking over to the stocky, broad shouldered Russian man in his early thirties.

"So how much is my rent?" Nikolai asked.

"Given you just moved here and just started working we'll start with just making sure the cottage is well maintained and $150 a month should be a reasonable start." Ms. Honey replied.

"That is quite generous of you, Ms. Honey." Nikolai replied.

"Please, call me Jennifer." she replied.

"Alright, thank you, Jennifer. This is most generous of you." Nikolai replied as he looked around the small cottage.

"You're welcome." Jennifer replied as Nikolai put down the olive green backpack he was carrying. It looked like a military type backpack of some sort, her curiosity piqued she asked, "So were you in the Russian army?"

"Briefly." Nikolai said, "Nothing to tell really."

_That was a vague response. _Jennifer thought. _But then again veterans do like their privacy. _

It was a Saturday when Nikolai had moved into that small cottage, it still had some of Ms. Honey's old furniture before she had moved back into her father's old house a year earlier.

Jennifer said, "Ok, if you have any questions you have my phone number, and I do live just across school grounds."

"I appreciate it, thank you." Nikolai thought.

"Have a good afternoon." Jennifer said, as she walked out of the cottage, noticing several items on Nikolai's luggage seemed to be of a military nature. An old footlocker with Cyrillic writing, an olive green and well used backpack on his shoulders, and a similarly colored duffle bag with various Cyrillic characters on it.

So far Nikolai seemed polite, if a bit distant, and time would tell if he was a reliable worker. She did, however, trust Boothby's sense of judgment. She thought the old man, despite being crotchety at times, was a good judge of character.

* * *

Two men stood near the wrecked cityscape of Municiberg, a city scarred by the previous fighting between Syndrome's former forces that once controlled all of Metroville and the forces of the now defunct Soviet Union. The pair was an older man in a gray suit and a bald African American man wearing jeans and a green sweater.

As they stood by a partially shot up building front near Traction Avenue Frozone said, soberly, "We won. But at what cost?"

"A high cost, to be sure." Agent Rick Dicker replied as he looked out over the wrecked cityscape of Municiberg.

"The Soviets left all the Metroville territory they occupied." Frozone said.

"You mean the Russians now, the Soviet Union no longer exists." Dicker added, holding up a newspaper whose headline announced the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

"So the world's changed. But is it for the better or for the worse?" Frozone replied. His friends, the Parrs, no longer lived in Metroville, they now resided on another world having its own issues with the Heartless.

"Still too early to say." Dicker replied, "What we called the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact no longer exist. But there's a whole legacy of issues left in its wake. Now its been split into fifteen different states, with vast stockpiles of military hardware to include nuclear and chemical weapons in several different places under new management, poorly managed nuclear power plants, any one of which is a possible Chernobyl..."

Frozone felt his own blood turn to ice. _'Under new management', practically anyone knows that that implies chaos, loss of accountability of various nasty things to include military grade hardware and of course somewhat porous borders at times. _Of course there were still the problems of marauding Heartless all over Metroville and the former Soviet states.

"And on our own side too." Dicker replied, "Even accounting for the various Omnidroid facilities has been a nightmare, or worse were the places Syndrome performed his sick experiments on the Heartless."

"Trying to find all of Syndrome's old files has been a headache, but one worth it for us." Frozone replied.

Dicker nodded soberly, "Finding all of Syndrome's hidden labs and getting rid of _all _of the technology he used to create Heartless in a top priority."

Frozone nodded sagely, "If someone, anyone, gets a hold of that machinery and knows what they're doing..."

Dicker replied, "I'm glad we're on the same page, then."

* * *

_Run me out of town will you? Throw food all over me will you? Humiliate me will you? _Agatha Trunchbull thought. Exile for nearly a year had been bitter fruit, but after she had run into a tidbit of information her curiosity had been piqued.

And now, having picked her way through a complex of caves she had found what her tireless research had brought out. She saw the machinery and the emblem of the Heartless embossed onto it.

With a smile, the rumors of the Heartless had been proven to be true, and she could use their power to get her own back. _And possibly more...but let's start small, shall we? First I will get that brat, Matilda, and then my niece...And then who knows what more I can gain with the power of the Heartless._

Agatha Trunchbull rubbed her hands together with glee.

* * *

Nikolai had finished with unpacking the last of his possessions and sat on the front porch of the small cottage. The sun was setting back then, a blood red against an orange background. _Red and orange. The color of flame. _Nikolai thought.

Memories washed over him like waves rushing over the rocks on a beach. He took a breath as he remembered.

_Red. The color of the banner of the Soviet Union, a nation that no longer exist. A nation that called upon me time and again since the age of 18. _Nikolai thought to himself as he watched the sun set over the horizon.

_Kadrirovanniye otriad, skeleton battalion. _The voice of the political officer, a massive bear of a fellow who walked with a pronounced limp, echoed loudly through the assembly hall. He limped across the stage, behind him the red banner of the Soviet Union.

"I know all of you have served in the _spetsnaz _and the VDV (Airborne Forces) during your conscriptions." Comissar Letveyev's voice bellowed loudly, "At the end of your two year military services you were registered as members of _kadrirovanniye otriad, _subject to the occasional reserve exercise or recall to active service in the event of _voennaya opasnosti _(military danger). Well gentlemen, it is the latter. As you know tensions with Metroville have been rising ever since that _svoloch _Syndrome took power. Well the Comrades at the Kremlin believe war to be inevitable."

Nikolai looked to the left and right as he sat in that auditorium on the hard wooden bench, along with several other men ranging in age from 18 to 30, men belonging to the _spetsnaz _reserve in the region of Krasnodar Krai, which included his hometown of Sochi. Standing along the stage were the 29 cadre that were in charge of training the newly called up reservists.

In the near decade since he had finished serving with a _spetsnaz _minelaying unit on the Chinese border he had gone to university, gotten a degree in mechanical engineering, working as a mechanical engineer for the city of Sochi. And now the _spetsnaz _was calling him back.

* * *

"Hey Russkie, hand me that pipe wrench." came the shout from above the boiler from Boothby, the school custodian, a slightly pot bellied older gentleman in his fifties.

Nikolai said, "Coming up."

He handed the pipe wrench to Boothby as the latter man twisted to tighten a coupler on a pipe in the boiler room.

"This is the best time to inspect and fix the old boiler down here." Boothby said, grunting as he turned the wrench a few more twists.

After he finished he climbed down from the ladder, wiping grime from his face. He wore a pair of jeans, suede work boots, and a green t-shirt with the words **USMC Vietnam Veteran** on them.

_A kindred spirit perhaps? But time may tell. _Nikolai thought as he looked through the well ordered toolbox that Boothby and he had lugged off the latter's pickup truck. Mr. Boothby was definitely a thorough fellow who valued order.

_Something I can respect. _Nikolai thought.

"When the kids are at recess," Boothby said, with a grunt as he picked up the heavy toolbox and hefted it out to the truck, "It's usually a good time to get things fixed or checked inside the building."

The two men walked outside to Boothby's truck and the sound of barking from the schoolyard. At the sounds of the barks the two men looked at each other and then towards the kids and began to run towards the sound.

* * *

The ball bounced past Matilda Honey as Lavender tossed it towards her. It was as she ran towards the trees near the fountain that she saw the large dog resting nearby in the shade. The ball bounced near the resting animal.

The dog sat up with the bounce of the ball near him. And it drew itself to full height, it was mostly tan with black fur around the top of the head and face, with a black saddle of fur and its tail.

Matilda could see the animal was quite large, she could see it was male standing two and a half feet tall. She estimated his weight was around 90-100 pounds, and most of its weight appeared to be muscle despite the fact that its fur seemed to show evidence of living roughly.

The dog barked repeatedly as if to warn her away.

"Kids, stay back." a voice carried across the yard.

Ms. Jennifer Honey, the principal of Crunchem Hall Elementary, had been watching the kids at recess when she heard the barking coming from the trees. She had seen Matilda run into the trees and she ran towards the sound of the barking.

_My heavens! Matilda! _Ms. Honey thought as she ran over, fearing the very worst, the barks sounding like they came from something quite large.

And her worst fears were confirmed. The dog wasn't quite the size of a Saint Bernard, but it was still quite large, definitely large enough to really hurt Matilda.

"Easy...easy..." Ms. Honey said breathing rapidly. Mentally she was calculating how quickly she could throw herself between Matilda and the barking dog when Nikolai and Boothby arrived.

She just barely heard Boothby say, "Where did that thing come from? It's gigantic."

Nikolai stepped forward, moving towards the animal calmly, slowly. He slowly passed Ms. Honey and then Matilda till he stood between the dog and the two girls. If his theory was correct he might be able to defuse the situation.

Nikolai gave a sharp command, "_Sidet._"

The dog immediately relaxed, sitting down, panting with his tongue hanging out. _Now for the acid test. _Nikolai thought before giving a second command, "_Ko mne_!"

The dog trotted over to Nikolai's side and sat down. He knelt down, scratching the animal behind its ears, "_Molodets._"

As the dog started licking his face Nikolai noticed the ear tattoo on the dog. _Red Star Kennels, near Moscow. _Nikolai thought.

He turned towards Ms. Honey, Matilda, and Boothby and said, "I think everything is alright."

Matilda had noticed the tattoo on the inside of the dog too. It was in Cyrillic, two letters in the Russian alphabet.

_I don't read Russian. But there's something odd here. How did he know the dog was Russian? Come to think of it how did he know those two commands would work? _Matilda thought.

_How did he do that? _Ms. Honey thought before saying, "Mr. Varshavsky?"

"Yes?" Nikolai replied.

"Thank you." Ms. Honey replied.

"It's quite alright." Nikolai said, "And you are most welcome."

"Hey Russkie." Boothby said, "How in God's name did you do that?"

"It's a bit of a long story." Nikolai replied, "But I had worked around such dogs earlier in my life."

_They made wonderful attack dogs during the war. _Nikolai thought to himself, but that was something he wasn't entirely willing to let anyone know.

"_Ryadom._" Nikolai commanded and the dog trotted beside him. _Thankfully the Soviet Army was quite good about teaching obedience to its dogs._ Nikolai thought as he walked off.

_Huh, there's something more to this. For the time being I buy Russkie's answer, but there's something about this guy. _Boothby thought to himself. _I'll have to keep an eye on him._

* * *

"White Fang? Are you sure you want that one?" Ms. Honey asked as Matilda handed the book to her adoptive mother, "I mean after today."

"I'm ok, Mom, are you?" Matilda asked.

Ms. Honey nodded, "I'm alright."

"That was pretty neat how Mr. Varshavsky was able to control that dog. Where did he learn to do that?" Matilda asked.

_That was spooky. It was awesome, but boy was it spooky. _Ms. Honey thought.

"I'm not sure." Ms. Honey asked, "He never really talked much about what he did in Russia or where he came from."

_He had to have learned how to handle big dogs like that somewhere. The Russians don't just have huge dogs like that without a purpose._ Matilda thought to herself as Ms. Honey began to read the first pages of White Fang aloud.

"Mom, I have a question." Matilda asked.

"Yes, what's your question, sweetie." Ms. Honey asked.

"Why didn't Mr. Varshavsky talk about where he learned how to control that dog?" Matilda asked.

"Well, Matilda, sometimes grownups don't always like to talk about their pasts. Maybe Mr. Varshavsky just doesn't know all of us yet, and he doesn't feel comfortable." Ms. Honey replied.

_He certainly felt comfortable handling that dog. I wonder where and how he learned to do that? _Matilda thought to herself. _I wonder what secrets Mr. Varshavsky is hiding..._

* * *

Nikolai scratched Polkan behind the ears, the large Eastern European Shepherd panted softly after lying on the floor beside where Nikolai had just turned up the floorboards. Lying on the bed was a parcel, wrapped in brown butcher paper and tied with bits of string.

Through a small gap in the paper he could see the old KLMK camouflage pattern, standard issue for the old Soviet Army. It was a sight that brought memories again unbidden.

Of course he could have cast the parcel away, burned it, sold it, or otherwise ensured its disposal. But for an unknown reason he couldn't bring himself to rid himself of the package's contents.

_Perhaps it is part of me, as surely as my own heart. _Nikolai thought as he gently placed the package in that space underneath the floorboards before nailing them back into place.

* * *

To Be Continued.

_Kadrirovanniye otriad - _Skeleton Battalion. In the Spetsnaz each Brigade (_otriad_) has a small 'skeleton battalion' of 29 men with the express purpose to train reservists called back into active duty in the event of a military emergency.

_Ko mne - _Come

_Molodets - _Good Boy

_Polkan - _A centaur from Russian folklore possessing enormous power and speed.

_Ryadom - _Heel

_Svoloch _- Bastard.

_Sidet - _Sit


	2. Book I: Inferno, Chapter One

Inferno: Book I

Disclaimer: Same as before.

* * *

Nikolai gently pet the head of Polkan as he awoke the next morning, getting ready to feed his dog. He noticed healed scars around Polkan's muzzle, a lot like those left by clawed hands. As if the dog's large build, and the Red Star Kennels ear tattoo weren't enough to mark this dog as a kindred spirit. A war dog.

Polkan let out a sympathetic whine as Nikolai lightly touched the scars on the dog's muzzle. Nikolai muttered to the dog, "Well, my friend, it seems we both are adrift from a nation that has ceased to exist, having served it to the best of our ability."

The memories came back, unbidden, and he patted the dog's head, just aware of Polkan licking his hand, panting softly.

_Very few things are more terrifying to a spetsnaz soldier than a Search Ghost. _Nikolai thought. _The bastards have sharp senses and when they spot you they can alert practically every Heartless in the area onto your position. _

"We're going to have a spot of company when we go out on patrol next time, gentlemen." Nikolai said to his men.

Behind him were two large Eastern European Shepherd Dogs as well as their handlers. "This should help us deal with the Search Ghosts. I needn't tell you what a pain in the arse those are."

_A damned understatement. _Nikolai had thought. _At the bare minimum patrols have to dodge around them several kilometers. At the worst they get compromised and that means they get attacked. _

"As you know," Nikolai mentioned, "There are multiple ways to deal with Search Ghosts. Our main way have been our snipers and silenced weapon experts. The dogs give us another option. Their senses are sharper than ours and if they detect a Search Ghost before it detects us, we can kill it with the attack dogs..."

* * *

Back in Ms. Honey's old cottage Nikolai patted Polkan's muzzle and said, "You had to have had more than your share of encounters with those things. Like me you served the _Rodina _well. Like me it had no further use of you."

"Are you ok, after that dog showing up yesterday?" Lavender said to Matilda at recess the next day.

"I'm ok, thanks for asking." Matilda replied as she climbed onto the seesaw.

"What happened?" Lavender asked, sitting on one end of the seesaw already.

"Mr. Varshavsky showed up and commanded that dog to calm down or something like that, in Russian." Matilda said.

"That's not surprising, he is Russian." Lavender said.

"But a dog like that is like something that would be in the military. Not just roaming around randomly." Matilda said, "And anyway how would Mr. Varshavsky know how to tame it?"

"Maybe he worked with dogs before he became a handyman." Lavender said, "Who knows what he did in Russia?"

"Exactly." Matilda said.

"I don't think Ms. Honey would intentionally hire a bad guy." Lavender said as her end of the seesaw went down.

"Just because he isn't a bad guy, it doesn't mean he isn't hiding something." Matilda said, "I just wonder what it is? I mean he did say that he worked with such dogs when he was in Russia."

"Matilda, don't tell me you think our school handyman is some kind of Russian spy." Lavender said.

"For all we know he could be." Matilda said, "Or at the very least he worked for the Russian military. After all a dog like the one we saw yesterday is something that you'd see in a Russian military camp. And it did respond to Russian."

Matilda hopped off the seesaw, heading for the school library, "Sorry, I gotta go..."

Lavender replied, "This is against my better judgment, but I'll go see what you're up to."

* * *

Eating his own lunch, Nikolai sat at a bench near a fountain near the front of the school. Polkan was munching away at a couple treats of his own.

He scratched the ears of the dog. _Rest easy friend. _Nikolai thought, as he pet the dog some more. _May war no longer affect you._

Private Igor Sergeyovich raised a hand, halting the patrol. With a hand signal he told his comrades that his dog had sensed a Search Ghost.

Nikolai knew the dog had scented a Search Ghost Heartless by the fact that its hackles rose and its teeth bared. He knew the dog waited for the command that would send it attacking its quarry.

Igor looked over to Nikolai, eyes questioning, sweat brimming on his forehead. There was a decision to make. Either try and box around the Search Ghost or send a man with a silenced weapon with the dog and handler to kill it.

Nikolai nodded and said, quietly, "Igor, take Volodya and the dog and get rid of the Search Ghost."

Igor turned and looked down the line and gestured to Sergeant Volodya Semyenov, who carried one of the unit's AKMS-47s with the sound suppressor on the muzzle.

The two men and the dog crept from the unit's position as Nikolai glanced around, making sure his unit had taken cover, blending as best they could into the rolling hills and smashed buildings that remained of the town of Crossroads.

Nikolai thought to himself, grimly, as he reached towards the selector lever of his AKS-74, gently flicking it down from safe to fire. Best case scenario, Semyenov and the dog neutralized the Search Ghost with not even a sound. Worst case scenario Heartless and their Metroville allies would converge on their positions.

Counting hour-long seconds, glancing occasionally at his watch. _Pyat. Desyat. Pyatnadtsat. _A few seconds later he saw Igor, Volodya and the dog returning. Feeling relief.

Moving slowly away. Halting. Hoping no one noticed the fact that his team took out the Search Ghost. Moving a few paces and then seeing the dog's hackles raise and Igor raising a hand.

_Choryt. _Nikolai thought as the team sought what cover it could, moving off the wrecked street and into a nearby alley and the shell of a building long ago smashed by artillery fire. Very slowly Nikolai brushed his hand against the side of his AKS-74, a slight metallic click as the safety catch was turned off.

To Nikolai the sounds of the click, his own breathing, and his heartbeat all felt like they resonated through the night. Thankfully he didn't hear a vehicle engine. The last thing they needed was a tank accompanied by enemy infantry in the area.

For a half second he dared hope that the enemy patrol didn't find the Search Ghost Igor and Volodya had killed. For exactly that half second the hope remained alive as the patrol seemed to move past the team's location. But then he heard a shout and the enemy turned towards their location.

"_Ogun!_" Nikolai shouted, no longer needing stealth as he squeezed the trigger on his AKS-74.

A pre-planned response. One they rehearsed time and again. If compromised every man would open fire, gain temporary fire superiority and then escape towards a pre-arranged point. Rapid fire bursts of fire.

A flare shoots into the sky, hanging from a parachute as it slowly descends to the ground, lighting the wrecked town. Casting ghastly shadows. Halting since in the new burst of light movement is easily noticed.

Running and shooting some more and...

"Excuse me." came a voice.

Nikolai turned to see Ms. Honey standing behind him. Polkan sat at the foot of the bench, panting with his tongue hanging out.

"Yes." Nikolai said.

"Mr. Varshavsky, might I ask you a favor?" Ms. Honey replied.

"Certainly." Nikolai replied.

"I understand you adopted the dog..." Ms. Honey began.

"Polkan." Nikolai said, "His name is Polkan, after a centaur of great strength in Russian and indeed much of Slavic mythology."

Jennifer felt a bit confused at first, for a school handyman Nikolai seemed to be quite erudite and educated. She put that at the back of her mind for the moment and said, "Anyway, I know you adopted Polkan and he seems to be quite well behaved."

Ms. Honey's eyes moved towards the dog who was sitting and attentively watching both his master and the woman speaking to him. Polkan cocked his head quizzically to one side as he regarded Ms. Honey and Nikolai.

After looking over to the animal and then to its master she said, "Could you ask my permission next time you bring Polkan on campus? Understand some of the students and faculty are still a bit uncomfortable."

"Of course." Nikolai said, as he wiped his mouth, having taken another bite of his sandwich while listening to Ms. Honey, "However might I propose something?"

"Sure." Ms. Honey thought.

"Would you like to pet him? I assure you he's quite obedient." Nikolai replied.

"Ok..." Ms. Honey said, gingerly reaching a hand out to rub the dog's head. _So far, so good. I mean he hasn't bitten my hand off. _

Indeed Polkan was responding quite well, panting softly before licking Ms. Honey's hand and looking back over at her, with his tongue hanging out. The dog's eyebrows raised alternately, left and right as he regarded Ms. Honey.

"I'd like to submit that I can take Polkan to the different classes." Nikolai said, "I can show them that Polkan isn't a threat and that he's quite tame."

Ms. Honey was taken aback for a moment, thinking it over and then realized the Russian was right. If Nikolai could demonstrate how well behaved the animal was then he wouldn't scare some of the students. She'd definitely have to talk this out with the staff meeting she had coming that afternoon.

"Alright Mr. Varshavsky, I'll talk to the rest of the staff and I'll get back to you. In the meantime, just let me know whenever you plan to bring Polkan on campus." Ms. Honey replied.

"Alright." Nikolai said.

"Thank you for being so patient." Ms. Honey replied as she headed back to the school building.

_There's something about both of them. _She thought. _It's like there's a something I'm not seeing. I mean Nikolai definitely sounds like a lot more educated than a simple handyman would be. It's like there's another side to both of them that they're not showing. But my question is would I really want to see it? _

She chided herself mentally. _It's not like Nikolai worked for the KGB or anything like that. _

She attempted to picture the normally good natured, if sometimes standoffish Nikolai as a member of some old Soviet secret service. Her last thought on the matter for the remainder of the day was: _That's absurd._

* * *

Agatha Trunchbull smiled at her good fortune. Unlike several of the other sites she had examined for information on the Heartless this one was intact. It wasn't destroyed in fierce battles against the Soviets or blown apart or burned by fleeing scientists. It seemed to have been simply left to the elements, to simple ennui.

_No more. _Agatha thought as she read through the files on a computer that was undamaged. This would require planning, and take time. But this time would be well worth it. And the words on the hard drive of the computer seemed to be almost linked directly to Syndrome's own notes.

She knew that Syndrome was the former dictator of Metroville until being ousted from power around the same time as the Soviet ceasefire. This particular laboratory seemed to be a fallback position that nobody had claimed.

Well, it was time for someone new to claim it. And Agatha Trunchbull had every intention of using it. No time for rest, even though it had been an arduous climb to that location, it was time to put the machinery left in the lab and the archived information on its computers to good use.

* * *

"Oh, sorry." Matilda said as she bumped into Boothby as she walked out of the school library. In carrying quite a few books she bumped into the tattooed, graying haired, retired Marine.

"It's alright." Boothby said as he helped pick up a couple of the books.

"_Russia and the Tsars, The Soviet Union,_ and _War and Peace._" Boothby remarked, "Looks like some heavy reading."

"Just some research." Matilda said.

_Heck, that's more than just 'some heavy reading' it's damned spooky that this kid's a lot smarter than her peers. _Boothby thought.

Matilda carried the three books to the bus, she was going to take a trip to the public library for a few other books that the school library didn't carry

* * *

"_To comrade Captain Nikolai Varshavsky," spoke the burly Commissar Letveyev, "For bravery on the Metroville front, behind enemy lines the Motherland awards you the Order of the Red Star."_

_The Commissar pinned the red enameled, five point silver star with the image of a soldier, onto Nikolai's faded camouflage patterned jacket. He just barely heard the Commissars continued reading of the award citation._

_On his last mission seven people died. And in the distance Nikolai could see seven skeletons clad in the service uniforms of the Soviet Union. Above them shimmered the all too familiar emblem of the 'crossed heart'. The symbol of the Heartless._

_His dream shifted one more. This time he could see Crunchem Hall Elementary School. But its grounds were devoid of life. He could see the Heartless roaming about the grounds. Nobodies flitted amongst the overgrown ruins and then he saw the symbol again, a black heart with a red 'x' crossed into the center of it. _

Nikolai sat bolt upright in bed, instinctively reaching under his pillow for the Makarov PM pistol he kept hidden underneath it. Polkan sat up too, with a bark.

This had been the second time that week he had that dream. Having a nightmare like that once would be grounds to dismissing this. Having the same nightmare twice or more in a week, as well as not being able to sleep warned him that something was afoot.

One did not survive years in the _spetsnaz _by ignoring one's gut instincts. And Nikolai sat up in bed, patting Polkan's head as he walked into the kitchen, taking a notebook from the dresser and began to start writing.

He knew a lot of things had to be done and he wasn't sure how much time he had. He had written up a list of things he needed. First was a need to get into shape, starting tomorrow. Fighting shape.

* * *

Continued.

_Choryt - _Shit

_Desyat _- Ten

_KGB - _The Russian acronym literally translates into _Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti _or 'Committee for State Security', the Soviet internal security service.

_Pyat _- Five

_Pyatnadtsat _- Fifteen.

_Rodina - _Roughly translated as Motherland, the name Russians call Russia.


End file.
